"Mac, no!" Swinging around, he said, "Don't touch it." Mac froze with his hand on the helmet. "What's wrong?" "Pull him out and you'll fry his brain." Mac straightened up. "What are you talking about?" "It's not just a virt!" Jud couldn't believe that Del, who supposedly had needed a loan to survive, could have this setup. "It's a direct node-to-brain system without a safety." He motioned at the cube in the console. "Does that look like any virt you've seen? It's a damn bliss-node." "How would Del have one of those?" Mac asked. "A good question." Jud crossed his arms. "He's been claiming he can hardly afford his rent. He acts like he's broke. And while I was trying to help my debt-saddled friend, he spent half a million buying a bliss-node. That fucking bastard." "Jud, wait. Del wasn't making that kind of money. I manage his finances. He needed your help." Mac's face had paled. "How do we get Cameron out of this thing? I want to know why he's here instead of with Del." "So Del dumped him." Jud was tired of Mac's constant worrying about Del, who was apparently perfectly able to take care of himself, to the tune of half a million dollars.
